Cineworld Group Plc's full-year pretax earnings more than doubled, boosted by its purchase of the theatre business of Poland's Cinema City International last year. The company said it expected 2015 to be a strong year with big releases, including the Bond film "Spectre", the fourth and final Hunger Games movie "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" and the latest Star Wars film "Star Wars: Episode VII", lined up for this year. Shares in the company, Britain's largest cinema operator, rose as much as 8 percent in early trading on the London Stock
Exchange yesterday. Cineworld's pretax profit jumped to 67.3 million pounds for the 53-weeks ended Jan. 1 from 30.9 million pounds a year earlier. Revenue rose 52.5 percent to 619.4 million pounds ($927.12 million). The company, which operates 1,875 screens in nine countries, said box office revenue rose 43 percent to 399.2 million pounds, accounting for 64 percent of total revenue.
